Thermodynamic analysis of the Cu-Sn-P ternary system

A thermodynamic analysis of the Cu-Sn-P system was performed using the CALPHAD technique. To overcome the lack of experimental information on thermodynamic properties, the formation enthalpies of binary and ternary phosphides were evaluated using a first-principles energetic calculation method; specific heats of these phosphides at constant pressure were also calculated using the quasiharmonic and Debye-Grüneisen approximations. We concluded that the ternary compound Cu ₄SnP ₁₀, detected experimentally using X-ray investigation, was unstable; however because of lack of data on its thermodynamic properties, further experimental and thermodynamic investigations on this ternary phosphide are required.